Rising stars?

Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis’ announcement Monday that he will be running for state auditor has likely set in motion a chain of campaign announcements — four of them emanating from the town of Holden.

State Rep. Lewis Evangelidis (R-Holden) said late last year he was considering a run for Glodis’ position, saying at the time that, as sheriff, he could re-focus specifically on law enforcement issues and serve a larger community than he does as state representative.

Evangelidis said this week he is 99 percent sure he will, indeed, be running for Glodis’sposition.

Evangelidis’s official campaign announcement and kickoff, however, aren’t planned until later this month.

“I know many people in the district have many ideas about what I should be running for,” he said. “But I really need to make this choice on my family situation and where my skills allow me to best serve the community.”

Evangelidis is an attorney from Holden who was elected to the Legislature in 2002.

Evangelidis isn’t the only Holdenite, however, who has an eye on Glodis’ seat. Holden resident Scott Bove, Glodis’s assistant deputy superintendent, who has worked at the West Boylston jail for 27 years, planned to announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination at 3 p.m. Thursday at Holden Town Hall.

“The position shouldn’t be a political position,” Bove said this week. “I think it truly needs to have a professional administrator, not a politician. Party affiliation shouldn’t matter.”

Evangelidis vacating the state representative seat would open a door for two Holden politicians, both now serving on the select board.

Select board Chairman Kimberly Ferguson, a Republican, is interested.

“Out of courtesy to Lew, I won’t be announcing anything until after his kickoff,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “But I will be in this race.”

Selectman Kenneth O’Brien, too, is pretty clear about his plans.

“I’m definitely going to run,” O’Brien said. “The reason I’m running for state rep. is to bring more resources back to the district, but also because I’m a small businessman and I really do believe we have to work hard at creating jobs and stimulating the economy.”

As the Landmark went to press, neither Ferguson nor O’Brien had scheduled campaign kickoffs.